Paul George to compete in dunk contest All-Star weekend

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Pacers Paul George slams the ball home as the Heat's Chris Anderson tries to avoid the ball during the play. Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals May 24, 2013, at the American Airline Arena in Miami FL.
Matt Kryger/The Star

Pacers Paul George drive and dunk on Miami's Chris Bosh in the first half of their game #6. Indiana Pacers play the Miami Heat in game #6 of the Eastern Conference Finals June 1, 2013 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Matt Kryger / The Star

On Thursday, the NBA revealed a rare stellar field for the 2014 Slam Dunk contest, featuring George, an Eastern Conference All-Star starter.

George, who also participated in the 2012 contest, will compete against fellow All-Stars Damian Lillard (Portland) and John Wall (Washington), defending dunk champion Terrence Ross (Toronto) as well as Harrison Barnes (Golden State) and rookie Ben McLemore (Sacramento). The Slam Dunk contest will be held Saturday, Feb. 15 in New Orleans as the traditional highlight of the All-Star weekend.

This is the first time three All-Stars have competed in the dunk contest since 1988.

As far as name recognition, this six-man pool is the deepest since 2000 when Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Jerry Stackhouse competed for the crown. Carter famously won that competition with an array of entertaining dunks, including a 360-degree windmill similar to the one that George displayed during a Jan. 18 matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. George paid homage to the legendary leaper by describing his dunk as "Vince Carter-esque."

There are new twists to the contest format. The dunkers from Eastern Conference teams -- George, Ross and Wall -- will compete against Lillard, Barnes and McLemore of the West. In the first round, called "freestyle," each player gets 90 seconds to perform any dunks he wants. Judges will vote for the East or West players, and the winning conference gets the choice of whether to dunk first or second in the next round.

That round, called the "battle" round, will feature head-to-head matchups between East and West dunkers. Players who lose a "battle" are eliminated. The first team to win three battles wins. After the contest, fans can vote for their favorite dunker on social media.

Fred Jones won the dunk contest in 2004 as a member of the Pacers. Jonathan Bender (2001) and Gerald Green ('13) have also competed in the event for Indiana.

Before that Jan. 18 game, George vacillated on possibly participating, claiming that he wouldn't want to "add to (the All-Star break) by doing extra stuff," but he will enter his second dunk contest in three years. However, fellow Pacer All-Star Roy Hibbert said his teammate should have declined the invitation.

"I don't think Paul should do it, to tell you the truth," Hibbert said. "He's doing the stuff in the games to show why he could've won it two years ago. I think he's been there-done that, and I don't think he needs to go back unless he was defending it. So I don't personally think he should do it."